Eligibility Requirements for TMEA Activities

Updated 9/2015

Note: Those students in grades 9–12 who are competing for places in one of the TMEA All-State Organizations must abide by the rules listed in all three sections of this document. Students competing in all other TMEA sanctioned activities need only be concerned with those regulations contained in Sections I and II.

Section I

Article 1: Full-time Student. A student must be enrolled as a full-time student (as defined by rule of the State Board of Education) in a Texas school during the semester in which the TMEA activity takes place. If an audition takes place in one semester and the resultant concert or clinic takes place in another, then the student must be enrolled as a full-time student during both semesters.

Article 2: Membership in Parent Organization. A student must be certified by his TMEA Active Member director as a participatingmember of the school’s parent musical organization during the semester in which the TMEA activity is held. If there is no parent musical group in the school, the student must be certified by a TMEA member sponsor. This sponsor must hold an Active Membership in TMEA and must have been designated as a sponsor by the chief administrator of the school the student attends.

Article 3: Locality and Classification. A student shall compete in the Region in which he is currently receiving the majority of his educational instruction to meet graduation requirements. A private school student shall compete in the comparable UIL classification according to the enrollment of the school. A magnet school student shall compete in the UIL classification of the largest high school in the same school district. A charter school student shall compete in the school’s UIL assigned or equivalent classification. (Home School, see Article 8.)

Article 4: Extracurricular Activity. All TMEA activities are extracurricular. In order to participate in TMEA activities, a student must be passing the number of courses required by state law and by rules of the State Board of Education.

Article 5: Academic Standing Requirements. In order to participate in TMEA activities, a student must have been in attendance and have passed the number of courses required by the University Interscholastic League for extracurricular participation. For the purpose of this rule, the year in which a student first enrolls in grade nine is the student’s first year in high school. Students are considered eligible to participate during the first six-weeks of the school year provided the following standards have been met:(a) Students beginning grades nine and below must have been promoted from a lower grade prior to beginning of the current school year.(b) Students beginning their second year of high school must have earned five credits which count toward high school graduation requirements.(c) Students beginning their third year of high school either must have earned a total of 10 credits which count toward state high school graduation credits, or a total of five credits which count toward high school graduation requirements must have been earned during the 12 months preceding the first day of the current school year.(d) Students beginning their fourth year of high school either must have earned a total of 15 credits which count toward state high school graduation credits, or a total of five credits which count toward high school graduation requirements must have been earned during the 12 months preceding the first day of the current school year.

Article 6: Age Limits. A student may not participate after the end of the eighth semester following his first enrollment in the ninth grade. The eight semester, four year rule may be waived under certain circumstances.

Article 7: Change of School. Changing schools within the state after acceptance at any level of the All-State selection process will not affect eligibility for further competition. A letter certifying eligibility from the student’s former school administration, as well as from his new school, must be filed with the appropriate TMEA Division Chair. The student will continue the process through the Region/Area of the new school.

Article 8: Home School Student. A student representing a home school must enter the audition process in the same TMEA Region as the public school ISD in which the home school is located. Home school classification is considered to be the same as the public high school in which boundary the student resides. A home school student may not participate after the end of the fourth year following the first audition entry. The four year rule may be waived under certain circumstances.

Section II

Article 1: Sponsor. Each student’s TMEA Active member director or member sponsor must be in attendance at all TMEA auditions and any other TMEA activities. Each Region shall define written guidelines determining the use of proxies.

Article 2: Removal. A student may be removed only by: (1) the audition process itself, (2) the TMEA Appeals Process, or (3) the student's TMEA Active member director or member sponsor.

Article 3: Appeals Process. TMEA Policies and Proceduresspecify an appeals process that shall be used in connection with protests arising from any TMEA selection procedure or failure to fulfill any rehearsal/performance obligation.

Article 4: Penalties to be Imposed. During any event sanctioned by TMEA, violation of any of the rules in Section I above shall jeopardize the student’s ability to further participate in the tryout process. Said violation may result in forfeiture of a place in any TMEA organization.

A student who does not complete the rehearsal/performance obligations (Region, All-State, etc.) will not be eligible for an official participation patch or other award and risk being removed through the Appeals Process from further participation in the All-State process.

Section III

Note: These rules are to be followed IN ADDITION to all of the above rules by any studentcompeting for placement in one of the All-State Organizations.

Article 1: Certification to the Next Level. A student advancing beyond the Region-level must be certified by the Region Divisional Chair. In a Region which sponsors a full orchestra as part of the Region audition process, the Region Orchestra Chair shall certify the Area orchestra candidates representing that Region.

Article 2: Duplication of Area Certification. A student may audition in band and/or choir and/or orchestra, but once notified of placement in either the All-State Jazz Ensemble or All-State Orchestra (strings) may not advance to Area for another All-State group. A student may be selected to advance to Area in both wind/percussion and choir but may only participate in one Area audition. The director must ensure that a student submits a completed Area Declaration Form by December 15.

These rules are not intended to preclude any student from participation in more than one group at the Region level.